The blood appeared every where fluid, except in some portions of the lungs, and in the cavities of the heart. It was very dark coloured, perhaps more than ordinarily thin, and oozed from every part, which was cut.
The cellular membrane, in all dependent parts, effused, when cut, a serous fluid.
CASE II.
Mr. John Jackson, fifty-two years of age, had been affected for more than two years with palpitations of the heart, and paroxysms of dyspnœa. These symptoms increased in October, 1808, and were followed by strong cough, uneasiness in lying down, sudden startings in sleep, and an inclination to bend the body forward and to the left side. His cough, during the last part of his life, was attended with copious bloody expectoration. His countenance was florid; his pulse very irregular, though not quite intermittent. The occasional variations in the state of the disease were remarkable. Some periods were marked with uncommon mental irritability. Pain in the region of the liver, œdema of the inferior extremities, paucity and turbidness of the urine, yellowness of the skin, and great emaciation attended the latter stages of the disease. A degree of stupor occurred. The termination on the 30th of January, 1809, was tolerably quiet. Two days before death he sank into the recumbent posture, and his pulse became more regular[5].
DISSECTION,
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS AFTER DEATH.
On opening the thorax, its right cavity was found to contain a large quantity of water; the left, a smaller quantity.
The lungs were of a firm, condensed texture, especially at the lower part, where their solidity was nearly equal to that of a healthy liver. They contained black blood.
The heart was much enlarged, and proportionally thickened. Its tunic was in some places covered with coagulated lymph, especially over the coronary arteries. Its cavities were filled with black coagulum, which in the right auricle and ventricle had a slight appearance of polypus. The semilunar valves of the pulmonary artery and aorta were unusually small, and their bases cartilaginous. Those of the aorta had lost their form, and were slightly ossified. The remaining valves were partially thickened. The arch of the aorta was very much dilated, its internal coat covered with a bony crust, which extended through the remaining thoracic portion, gradually diminishing. This portion was also considerably dilated.
The liver was indurated; its peritonæal coat exhibited a flaccid or wrinkled appearance, and bore marks of slight inflammation. The gall bladder was filled with bile, and the pancreas indurated.